Chapter 58: The third set of trails

"He is already at twentieth floor. Do you think he will beat the others and win first place?"

"I don’t know. But he is not faster than others. Maybe he might be same as the other two guys who are in the lead."

"I think so too."

"I don’t think so. He might even withdraw from the next floor."

Some candidates and spectators are discussing about Sam as they spectated the tower.

Meanwhile Sam is being under the test that will lead him to the last set of the tests in the tower. The test to enter twenty-first floor.

Sam is sweating all over as he looked at the time as he sat on the platform. His conscious is wide awake. In his mind.

Sam is hanging on to a tall vertical rocky surface. He looked down and beneath him is a pool of hot lava, from which the hot vapours came out searing his skin. He looked upwards towards the mouth of the volcano. He can clearly see a blue sky filled with white clouds.

Sam started climbing. His spiritual energy is sealed and his memory is blank. The only thing he knew is that he cannot hold on to the rocky wall at the same spot if he wants to survive. His body has several cuts and bruises and some of the wounds are bleeding. He slowly started getting near the mouth of the volcano. When he finally placed his hand over the mouth and pulled himself up, a light flashed and he found himself at the point he started.

"F.u.c.k" He cursed out loud as he looked at the pool of lave very near to his legs. This is the fourth time this happened. Every time he climbed up with all his might, he will come back down as if he was struck in a loop and worse every time this happened, his injuries will worsen due to the close exposure of the heat from the lava. He is growing tired and he wants to rest, but something in his mind is telling him that climbing is the only escape route. If he wants to live, he needs to climb.

He started climbing and again reached the top and again came back to the bottom in a flash.

Fifth time.

Sixth time.

.

.

Tenth time. Sam is fully wounded. His skin cracked. He has third degree burns; he is holding the rocky protrusion with all his might. But he refused to give up. His palms are covered with blood and burns. He is hurting all over and he still tried to pull himself up, but this time his hand lost the grip and he fell into the lava pool.

*splash*

Sam opened his eyes on the platform. He is drenched in sweat. His skin became cold.

*pah* *pah* He slapped himself twice to make himself more awake. He looked at the door which just opened and he felt anxious as to what to see in the next round.

Sam looked at the two men and hesitated a bit. He immediately left the alley and continued begging before he went back to the shed silently. He went to the young man and silently gave him the money he got through begging.

Young man took the money and still seemed to be a bit disappointed, he took the money and slapped Sam.

"Why is your collection still low? You are a waste for me." He scolded and threw a piece of bun at Sam and left the room.

Sam slowly made his way to the room and ate the bun which is definitely not enough for him. He tried to sleep and was thinking about the two men and whether to lead them here or not.

Last time, a boy tried to lead police here and what happened is that the police was bribed by the young man and the boy became victim and got his leg broken.

Sam was afraid that if he does this and get caught, he will also suffer. This is too much for a four-year-old boy. He can’t seem to come to a decision and he only slept when he was unable to stay up due to his fever.

Next day he woke up again with a round of kicking. "How dare you to sleep again today? Didn’t I make myself clear last night?" The young man kicked him again and again. Sam wept as he hugged his head.

Why? He asked himself. He was tired of this. He was clearly tired of this. After the beating was over, he took his bowl and went to the streets but this time he didn’t beg anyone. He walked to the alley where the two men talked yesterday and waited there. He sat there for a whole day and when it was evening the two young man came again.

"There are no leads."

"For me neither." Two of them spoke with frustration. Sam walked towards the two men from his spot and then pointed at the photo in their hands.

When they looked at the kid pointing at the photo they were confused and shooed him away.

"Kid, get away from here. It is not a place for you to stay."

Sam didn’t move and tugged one man’s pants and pointed towards the photo and then towards the street.

"You know where this guy is?" One of them asked as he looked at Sam.

"Yes." Sam said and nodded his head. His throat hurt when he tried to speak. That is why he is refraining himself from speaking.

The two men exchanged glances and gestured Sam to show the way. When they reached the hide out and found the young man, they immediately started beating him up and only stopped until the young man is dead. The young man looked at Sam with resentment as he breathed his last.

"Don’t worry, we will take care of you." One of the two men said with a smile. At the time Sam nodded. But he didn’t know that this is situation that led him to a scenario of leaving the pan only to land in stove.

As soon as the young Sam closed his eyes, Sam who is sitting in the tower opened his eyes as he shivered heavily. That is one of the most painful memories in the past. The decision to rat out the young man, took everything a four-year-old has to offer.

He understood now. This is the third set of the trails. He has to live through the same scenarios of the past and take the same decisions he took. But it is not easy. Because, he would rather not live the scenarios again. When the door to the next floor opened, he started hesitating for the first time.